In a recent interview, the Russian president’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked that Moldova’s president Maia Sandu had more than enough domestic challenges demanding her attention than requesting the withdrawal of Russian military forces from the Transnistrian region (Newsmaker.md, January 5; Newsmaker.md, November 30, 2020). This... MORE

On December 11, the newly elected parliament of Georgia gathered for its opening session. Of the legislative body’s 150 deputies, only 88 attended the event. All represented billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili’s ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party (Civil.ge, Kommersant December 11, 2020). Georgian Dream has governed the... MORE

On November 24, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strictly condemned Sukhumi and Moscow’s joint approval of a program to create a common socio-economic space uniting breakaway Abkhazia and Russia. Tbilisi slammed it as “another illegal step toward the de facto annexation” of its occupied... MORE

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s (PACE) co-rapporteurs in charge of monitoring Georgia, Titus Corlatean (Romania) and Claude Kern (France), called on all Georgian political parties to accept the parliamentary seats they won in the recent elections (first round on October 31, second... MORE

On November 3, the leaders of all eight opposition political parties that won seats in the Georgian parliament based on the results of the October 31 elections signed an agreement pledging to refuse to take up their parliamentary mandates and to completely boycott the new... MORE

Georgia will hold parliamentary elections on October 31. The country’s citizens will be electing their tenth national legislature since independence, proclaimed in 1991. This weekend’s elections will be the first held under the newly modified constitutional framework, with 120 members of parliament (MP) elected via... MORE

The resumption of Azerbaijani-Armenian hostilities over the Karabakh region, located only 560 kilometers from Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi, has raised concerns within the Georgian government about the consequences of this conflict for the country, which faces tough parliamentary elections on October 31. On October 3,... MORE

The political difficulties and expenses Moscow will face if it seeks to more fully integrate Belarus (see EDM, September 10) are patently visible in the problems—albeit on a smaller scale—the Russian government has had over the past decade in its efforts regarding Abkhazia and South... MORE

Since its August 2008 war with Russia, Georgia has sought to restore and improve its air-defense capabilities. The South Caucasus republic is consequently purchasing an advanced Israeli anti-aircraft system from a state-owned company, whose products were notably battle-tested against Russian aircraft in Syria. Georgian officials... MORE

On September 2, the parliament in Tbilisi approved the Law “On the Rules and Procedures for Georgian Citizens Exiting and Entering Georgia” (Matsne.gov.ge, September 4). This legislation is not related to the pandemic; rather, it addresses Georgia’s long-term relationship with the European Union and introduces... MORE